Upcoming Events

• Friday, January 26, 2024 - End of first semester

• Wednesday, January 31, 2024 - Hillel Torah 8th Grade visit to ICJA

• Friday, February 2 - Shabbat, February 3, 2024 - Ida Club Girls' Club Shabbaton - register here

• Friday, February 9 - Shabbat, February 10, 2024 - Ida Crown Boys' Club Shabbaton - register here (To discuss financial assistance for either Shabbaton, contact Michael London.)

• Tuesday, March 12, 2024 - NHS Induction Ceremony

• Sunday, April 7, 2024 - 18 Under 18 Awards Event

On Thursday, students celebrated Tu B'Shevat and discussed religious growth.

On Thursday, Tu' B'Shvat, students celebrated the birthday of trees with inspirational morning panel discussions.

Girls heard about the personal religious journeys of Mrs. Elana Lipman, a divorce mediator with the CRC; Mrs. Seyma Alberino, a healthcare translator; and Mrs. Alyssa Goldwater, a lifestyle influencer whose Instagram account A Glass of Goldwater @alyssagoldwater addresses topics including mental health, the dangers of diet culture, and the struggles of motherhood.

Boys heard about the spiritual journeys of ICJA Talmud and Tanach teacher Rabbi Barak Cohen; Mr. Misha Vilenchuk, a chess champion who combines work with learning; and Mr. Joe Alberino, who learns at Kollel Ateres Ami and also works as a nurse educator.

Following these inspirational panels, students wrote down a spiritual goal they'd like to work towards on biodegradable seed packets, planted these packets so that they grow, then enjoyed a festive fruit snack together.

Pictured above: Elana Lipman, Alyssa Goldwater, and Seyma Alberino

Pictured above: Misha Vilenchuk, freshmen Jacob Thomas and William Moscovitch, Joe Alberino, and Rabbi Barak Cohen

Pictured above: senior Adam Katz, juniors Kobi Engel and Avi Meyer, and senior Evan Comrov

Pictured above: juniors Allie Stein, Sarah Levitt, Sarah Lipson, Nava Dreytser, Tali Weiss, Yardana Schayer, and Leah Rina Brochin

Pictured above: freshmen Eliana Levitt and Evie Weiss, and sophomore Caley Gordon

Pictured above: freshmen Mia Saltzman and Iyla Friedman

Senior boys received a personal update from an Israeli Air Force Intelligence Officer.

After a long weekend, senior boys returned to ICJA Wednesday morning to hear from Capt. B, a reserve officer in Israel's Air Force who just completed 103 days of reserve duty.

Students learned about challenges facing Israel's military in Gaza and elsewhere, and asked questions about Israel's current fight against Hamas and other terrorist organizations.

Juniors learned about Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik's championing of women's Talmud learning in the 1950s.

This week, juniors in Mrs. Lynn Kraft's Oral Law class discussed Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik's groundbreaking championing of women's Talmud study in the 1950s. Students heard criticisms of Rav Soloveitchik's position, and also learned that Rav Soloveitchik held a family Talmud shiur for his daughters Atarah and Tovah and that his son Haym joined this existing shiur when he was old enough.

Students then read and discussed Rav Mayer Twersky's seminal essay Talmud Torah for Women and the Mehitsa Controversy, exploring the Rav's view.

Pictured above: Rachel Freed

Pictured above: Zehava Piltz

Pictured above: Eliana Ebert

What was King David like? Sophomore boys discussed how he might have been viewed by his contemporaries.

Sophomores in Mrs. Ayala Zimmerman's Navi class are learning Sefer Shmuel Alef. This week they discussed King David's characteristics and how his contemporaries viewed him, as they read about Shaul's persecution of David.

Pictured above: Eli Gelb

Pictured above: Josh Miller

Pictured above: Natan Rine

Freshmen in Mrs. Ruth Gleicher's Biology class modeled cellular respiration.

Freshmen in Mrs. Ruth Gleicher's Biology class modeled cellular respiration this week, diagramming what happens inside cells as oxygenated blood moves into cells. Students also discussed what happens when this process is compromised by diabetes and the changes experienced by cells.

Pictured above: Orli Appel, Eliana Neiger, and Shoshana Boshes

Pictured above: William Moscovitch, Ryan Angus, and Ayden Starck

Pictured above: Zahava Volkov, Rose Matatya, and Emuna Arnold

Seniors are journaling in Hebrew about their month of volunteering and learning.

Seniors in Mrs. Orit Marmel's Hebrew class are creating journals of their months of volunteering, both in Israel and in Chicago. Using pictures and Hebrew language text, students are creating lasting mementoes of this important period in their lives.

Pictured above: Aryeh Neiger and Sam Goreinstein

Pictured above: Jacob Friedman and Dory Marshall

Pictured above: Evan Comrov

Students celebrated the high school wrestling careers of our Senior Aces this week.

Wednesday evening marked the final home match for the seniors on the ICJA Wrestling Team. The group has shown remarkable resilience through the course of COVID, which robbed these athlete's of nearly half of their high school careers. The careers and accomplishments, both on the mat and off, of seniors Meir Aberman (190), Millo Benmelech (175), Jacob Z. Friedman (150), Ari Klein (126), Gabriel Klein (132), Benny Lowenthal (138), and Dory Marshall (190) were highlighted. The Aces then proceeded to wrestle a tough squad from Northridge Prep. Gabriel Klein set the tone for the match with a second period fall. Lowenthal and Friedman also contributed victories to the team’s efforts.

The Aces close out their regular season Thursday on the road against New Trier. 

Pictured above, from left: Coach Bill Porter, Coach Klein, and seniors Ari Klein, Gabriel Klein, Benny Lowenthal, Jacob Z. Friedman, Millo Benmelech, Dory Marshall, and Meir Aberman.

Students practice and take musical lessons during lunch.

Most days during lunch, ICJA's band room is full of life as students practice instruments and take lessons from our professional teachers who are available to teach any student who wishes.

Band can be used to satisfy sophomores' arts credits. In addition, any student is welcome to stop by the band room during lunch to jam with their peers, practice, and learn new skills.

Pictured above: sophomore Avner Frazin, senior Yitzchak Mishkin, ICJA music teacher Tommy Veronesi, and sophomore Jacob Friedman practicing an ensemble together this week

Freshmen and their relatives davened together at Agudas Yisroel of West Rogers Park last Sunday.

Many Sunday mornings, ICJA's freshmen boys' rebbe, Rabbi Louis Fliegelman, arranges for students and their fathers (or grandfathers or other relatives) to meet at a different Chicago-area shul to daven Shacharit together and enjoy breakfast and learning.

Last Sunday, some members of the ICJA family, including students, fathers, and other relatives, ravened at Agudas Yisroel of West Rogers Park, then chatted and shared breakfast, divrei Torah, and conversation.

For more information about the Veshinantam Levanecha program, email Rabbi Louis Fliegelman at lfliegelman@icja.org.

This week's learning dedications include:

Thursday, Tu B'Shevat, 5784, January 25, 2024, by the Lennon & Meisel Families in loving memory of David Lennon, דוד זליג בן שרה והלל, ז׳׳ל

Tuesday, the 13 of Shevat, 5784, January 23, 2024, by Tzivia Garfinkel, Ilana Blumberg ('88), Jonathan Blumberg ('90), Rayli (Berger) Blumberg ('94), Naomi Blumberg ('94), Jessica Blumberg ('16), Emily Blumberg ('18), Will Blumberg ('22), Alyssa Blumberg ('26) in loving memory of Birdie Garfinkel,

ברכה ביילא בת צבי הירש הכהן

If you would like to sponsor a Day of Learning, please contact our Director of Development, Deva Zwelling, at (773) 973-1450 ext. 115, or dzwelling@icja.org.

Watch "Connect with ICJA," our newest video

for prospective students - and share it with people you know who'd like to learn more about ICJA!

In addition to many thousands of physical books and journals, ICJA's Learning Commons contains tens of thousands of online books, journal articles and other resources, including subscriptions to newspapers such as The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, the Encyclopedia Britannica, and more. Students are able to access these resources through our portal.

Please stop by our librarian Mrs. Steinberg's desk in the Learning Commons or email her at  librarian@icja.org her to pick up your updated passwords to access our online material. ICJA's subscriptions are available at icja.libguides.com/home.

Do you have school-related news you'd like to see in this newsletter? Let us know!

If you have exciting ICJA-related news to share about classes, sports, clubs, or other projects, please tell us! Send news items and/or photos to Dr. Yvette Miller, Director of Communications at ymiller@icja.org. Your items can enhance our newsletter and ICJA's social media presence.

Join our New Alumni Facebook Group

We are excited to announce that we have a new private Facebook group called “ICJA Official Alumni Page.” It is a space for alumni from all graduating years to join. We will periodically post alumni reunions, events, fundraising opportunities, information about ICJA today, and news.

We are proud to have some families with us for four generations. If you are an alum, please join the group HERE and be sure to share the link with your family, friends, and fellow graduates. You can also share this link: https://www.facebook.com/share/UeTsqg16DDx4JHGK/?mibextid=hubsqH. Thanks for staying connected to ICJA!

Please reach out to Ilana Levy at ilevy@icja.org if you have any questions about this new effort.

Last summer, ICJA gave its Class of '22 alumni the second edition of our directory listing ICJA alumni who live in Israel and have graciously offered to open their homes to recent ICJA grads who are currently spending a gap year in Israel.

Thank you to the many alumni who have reached out to us, offering to host.

The directory was sent out to the emails of '22 grads that we have on file. If you have any questions or would like to update our contact information to help recent ICJA grads obtain a copy, please contact Dr. Yvette Miller, ICJA Director of Communications, at ymiller@icja.org.

We are still taking submissions from alumni who are willing to host, to include in future copies of this directory. Please contact Dr. Miller to be included.